It had been a long time, but now he was here. My brother had returned from the war. I threw my arms around him and hugged him."I missed you, too, Mary," John said, kissing my head. He wrapped his arms around me and squeezed. I cried into his brown sergeants' uniform, hugging him tighter. I heard heavy footsteps ascend the stairs and someone opening the screen door. John let me go and rushed towards the man at the door."John, my boy!" our father said, happiness evident in his face. They embraced, crying themselves as they hugged. My mother laid her delicate hands on my dad's shoulders, and he let go of John. Mother cupped his face with her hands and kissed him on his forehead. John hugged her, still crying. "We're all so glad you're back, John," she said, eyes glistening with tears of her own. "It's great to be back home," he replied, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand. John looked like an entirely different person than he did when he was called up six years ago. He looked like... a man. Not that juvenile boy anymore. He was a man."Come on, dinner's almost ready. It's your favorite, John. Beef stew," Mother told him. John smiled."Finally. No more MREs, just Mama's home cooking," he replied.Dad ushered John into the dining room, which had already been set by our housekeeper, Mrs. Fordson. John sat down in his seat, across from me. Dad sat down at the head of the table as Mother set the huge pot of stew down in the center of the table. Mrs. Fordson brought in a pitcher of water and a basket of her homemade bread. "If there's one thing that I'm happy about, it's that during the war, we certainly had plenty of beef," Dad said as he gestured to the cows outside. Dad said grace, and then served John, giving him a huge heaping bowl of stew. John hungrily started in on it, finishing it before we had a chance to finish, going for seconds after."Mama, you are the best cook in this whole country," John replied, scooping ladle-full after ladle-full into his bowl. She smiled as she watched him eat his second bowl of stew. She'd missed watching her son enjoy her meals."Can you tell us of anything about the war?" Dad asked cautiously. "I've seen many things that no man would ever want to see happening to his fellow troops. I'd rather not talk about it. All I know is I'm never going back to any war,""Does that mean you're staying? No more fighting?" I asked."I'm here to stay, Mary,"

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Comments

William

Oct 11, 2018

This is a wonderful short story — such a rich and detailed scene and backstory created out of just the single opening sentence of the challenge. This is true composition and storytelling! And the way the story ends is beautiful.